Herbert Smith Freehills confirms Aus head

Herbert Smith and Freehills have together announced the name of the new Australian managing partner of the soon-to-be merged firm.

Herbert Smith and Freehills have together announced the new Australian managing partner of the soon-to-be merged firm.

Jason Ricketts, currently the head of Freehills’ Perth office, will be the national head of the merged firm from October.

The new firm will be organised around global practice groups and will be led by joint CEOs David Willis and Gavin Bell, the current managing partners of Herbert Smith and Freehills respectively. But the firm will also have representatives from both firms on its management and governance bodies.

Bell said: “As we have said from the beginning, our merger with Herbert Smith is a true merger of equals and this is reflected in the make-up of our management team. The choice of Jason as Australian managing partner not only reflects his strong performance and leadership, but also the importance of Perth as a growing business hub for Asia Pacific and its strength in natural resources.”

The merged firm will have 20 offices globally, including 2,800 lawyers and 460 partners.

Herbert Smith Freehills will be made up of the joint CEOs Gavin Bell and David Willis, the Global Heads of Practice, Sonya Leydecker, Head of Disputes, Mike Ferraro and Patrick Mitchell, joint Heads of Corporate, Patrick St John, Head of the combined global Finance, Projects and Real Estate practice, Graeme Smith, Head of Employment, James Quinney, Head of EU Competition, Mark Rigotti, Managing Partner Industries and Clients, the four Regional Managing Partners, Mark Johnson, Managing Partner for Asia, Ian Cox, Managing Partner for the UK, Allen Hanen, Managing Partner for EMEA ( Europe, Middle East and Africa), Jason Ricketts, Managing Partner for Australia, and joint COOs Janet Young and David Robinson.

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